Shipping crate



J. C. SEARLE Aug. 11, 1925.

SHIPPING CRATE Filed Ap i'il 13, 1923 ing a part of this specification, and

Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNITED STATES JOHN C. SEARLE, 0F HONOLULU, TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

SHIPPING CRATE.

Application filed April 13, 1923. Serial No. 631,911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN G. Smnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping Crates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shipping crates and particularly to receptacles for packing and/ or shipping fruits, vegetables or merchandise.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a folding coverfitting within the crate and secured in tensioned relation across the top thereof so as to be maintained normally fiat, affording a resilient guard or protector for the contents of the crate, preventing unauthorized removal of the same and resisting the pressure of superposed objects by which the fruit might be damaged.

Another object of the invention is to provide the crate with an overhanging portion beneath which the free edge of the folding cover extends, rendering the cover unopenable while it remains flat, and resilient securing means for tensioning the cover when closed, holding it flat, it being necessary to release said securing means before the crate can be opened.

Still another object of the invention is the construction of the cover in hinged sections foldable together, and when so folded foldable inwardly against a side of the crate when the latter is not in use, and means for retaining said cover in place against said side of the crate, which means may be the same tensioning means by which the cover is secured to the crate when in operative position.

With the above: and other objects in view, my invention consists in the improved shipping crate illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and particularly claimed, and in such variations and modifications thereof as will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my invention relates.

In the drawings accompanying and formwherein the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a crate equipped with my improved cover.

Figure 2 is side sectional view of Figure 1, also showing in dashed lines positions assumed by the cover when, and after being folded.

Figure 3 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing the resilient tensioning means and the manner of securing it to the crate.

Figure 1 is a detail of the hinged construction by means of which the sections of the cover are rendered foldable.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a tool particularly adapted for latching and/or releasing the cover.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral 1 denotes, in general, a crate showing the bottom 2, slatted sides 3, and ends 4. In its preferred form the crate is shown as being of open construction, minimizing the weight and at the same time providing ventilation for the contents, but it is obviously immaterial to the invention if the sides are closed. In the form of crate shown the side and end members are secured to upright corner pieces 5. The top of the crate is provided with the cross members 6 and 7 which preferably overhang as shown at 8 in Figure 2 forming edges projecting over the interior of the crate.

The cover is preferably made in sections 9 and 10 each of which comprises longitudinal members 11 crossed by transverse members 12, the latter being riveted or otherwise secured to the longitudinal members, forming a lattice construction. The two sections are hinged together at 13 and 1 1, and the nature of the hinged connection may be best understood from a glance at Figures, in which it will be observed that the hinge pintles are formed by one pair of the opposite sides of a squared wire loop 15, the other pair of opposite sides being rigidly secured to the transverse member 12 of one of the sections, said transverse member being shown as made of metal bent around said loop as shown at 16 in Figure 41, and pressed to form channels 17 and 18 conforming to the shape of, and frictionally engaging the enclosed sides of said loop. The sides of the loop 15 forming the hinge pintles are connected to adjacent ends of certain of the longitudinal members 11 of the respective sections 9 and 10, said longitudinal members being also shown as made of metal and bent around said pintles so as to loosely engage the latter. As shown in the drawings the bent-over-loop-engaging portions of the transverse and longitudinal strips are riveted,

or otherwise securely held together to pre vent their being readily pried apart.

The outer longitudinal members 11 of the cover sections extend rearwardly as shown at 19 in Figure 1 and are bent into loops 20 which hingedly engage the U- shaped staples 21, the latter being driven through the cross member 6 and having the ends thereof upset as shown at 22 to fix them irremovably in place. Said cross member is formed with chamfers 23 in the path of outward movement of the cover and provides a limit to said movementin which position the cover will maintain itself in a stable open position indicated at Z) in Figure 2 while the crate is being filled.

The transverse members 12 are of such length as to fall short of meeting the sides of the crate when the cover is in closed position and the longitudinal members 11 of the cover section 9 are sufficiently long to extend beneath the overhanging edge of the cross member 7, said cross members being preferably downwardly offset at 24 to permit the cover when closed to assume a position parallel with the bottom of the crate. The transverse members 12 excepting the one at 13 and 14 and the one that goes under the cross member 7 have their ends that project over the longitudinal members 11 doubled or looped back and riveted so as to form rounded surfaces at the ends of the members 12 and thus avoid a sharp edge which may be liable to hurt the contents of the crate and more liable to catch on. any object touching the same. It is apparent that when the cover is in its normal operative position it can not be opened without folding it somewhat at the hinges 13 and 14 as shown in the dotted line position (a of Figure 2, to permit the release of the forward end of the cover from the overhanging edge of the cross member 7. The cover is prevented from being thus folded by means of one or more powerful springs 25 attached at one end to the forward portion of the cover section 9 and at the other end to a latching loop which is securable under considerable tension to a hook 26 driven through the cross member 7 and having the point thereof upset as shown at 27 in Figure 1. When said latching loop is in engagement with said hook the cover is placed under sufficient tension to maintain it in a flat position against any ordinary force which may tend to deform it, thus protecting the contents of the crate from loss due to stealing or other unauthorized removal and also affording a resilient buffer or guard to resist the weight of superposed objects which might be placed upon it incident to its transportation and which would otherwise injure said contents.

Said spring and latching loop may be of any desired form, a convenient embodiment being shown in Figure 3 in which the spring 25 is of the ordinary helical variety, having a closed loop 38 at its outer end. The latching loop consists of a doubled portion of wire formed into a loop 28 the free ends 29 and 30 of which terminate within. the barrel of said spring, one of said free ends being twisted as at 31 to form an eye surrounding the outer loop 38 of the spring 25. This construction makes two loops available, namely the loop 28 which directly engages the hook 26 and the loop 38 which is adapted to be engaged by a suitable tool for stretching the spring in the act of releasing or latching the cover. Such a tool is shown in Figure 5, consisting of body 32 of wood or other suitable material slotted at 33, in which slot is pivotally secured an element 34: having the hooked ends 35 and This tool may be carried conveniently upon the wrist of the packer by means of the cord 37 and the element 3% may be concealed within the slot 33 when the tool is not in use.

In the operation of my invention, the cover is first placed in the stable open position. shown at I) in Figure 2, said cover resting within the chai'nfers The crate is then filled and the cover closed, it being necessary to direct the forward end of the section 9 beneath the overhanging edge of the cross member 7 before the cover is pushed into flat position. One of the hooked ends or 36 of the tool shown in Figure 5 is applied to the loop 38 of the spring 25, the body 32 rested against the crate, as a fulcrum, and a strong pull is imparted to said spring in its longitudinal direction stretching the spring until the latching loop 38 may be readily slipped into the hook 26. The tool is then disengaged from the spring and the latter by its tension holds the cover fiat against deformation by any ordinary force that may be applied downwardly thereupon. The spring 25 is so strong that it cannot manually be released so that there is but little risk of the crate being robbed of its contents in transit. When it is desired to unpack the crate the tool is again inserted in the loop 38 and the spring 25 stretched to permit the release of the latching loop. The cover is then opened by folding the sections upon themselves, the inward position of said folding movement being shown at a in F igure 2. When said sections are folded together the cover is folded inwardly to the dashed line position indicated at c in Figure 2. The spring 25 may be engaged with a hook 39, holding the cover securely in folded position. The advantages of having the cover folded inwardly as shown are twofold, in that it not only affords a convenient place in which to stow the cover when the crate is not in use, but where it is desired to exhibit the contents of the crate, said contents may be emptied, the cover placed in folded position and the contents of the crate replaced. This assures that the cover will not be broken or mislaid and its position beneath the overhanging portion of the cross member places it entirely out of sight. It also acts as a filler for a small portion of the space within the crate so that the fruit, when returned to the crate for purpose of display, more than fills said crate, projecting above the top where it may show to best advantage. Another purpose served in folding the cover inside the crate is to get it out of the way when the crate is returned empty, as the method used at present is to stand one crate on end in another and put a third crate over the other end, thus saving space in transit or storage.

Obviously, changes in the details of construction may be made, without departing from the spirit of the invention and I do not wish to limit myself to any particular form or arrangement of parts.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A shipping case comprising a receptacle, a cover therefor and tensioning means for stretching said cover in closed relation to said receptacle, the line of pull of said tensioning means lying substantially in the plane of said cover when in closed position.

2. A shipping case comprising a receptacle having an open top, a cover therefor of such size as to fit within said top and resilient means for stretching said cover in closed relation to said receptacle.

3. A shipping case comprising a receptacle having an open top, a cover therefor of such size as to fit within said receptacle and tensioning means for stretching said cover in closed relation to said receptacle so arranged that the line of pull of said tensioning means is substantially in the plane of said cover when in closed position.

4. A shipping case comprising a receptacle having an open top, a cover therefor hingedly secured tosaid receptacle and resilient means for holding said cover in closed position in tensioned relation to said receptacle, the line of pull of said tensioning means being substantially in the plane of said cover.

5. In combination with a shipping case, a receptacle having an open top, a cover therefor made in folding sections and secured at one end to said receptacle, resilient means for stretching said cover in closed position relative to said receptacle under sufiicient tension to maintain the sections thereof normally in a common plane.

6. In combination with a shipping case a receptacle having an open top, a cover there for comprising folding sections, said cover being of a size to fit within said receptacle, and resilient means for stretching said cover in closed relation to said receptacle under sufficient tension to hold the sections thereof normally in a common plane.

7. A shipping case comprising a receptae cle having an open top, means providing an overhanging edge for said top, a cover comprising folding sections fitting within said receptacle and hingedly secured thereto at one end, the other end of said cover eXtending beneath said overhanging edge when fully unfolded and tensioning means engaging said receptacle and cover for stretching the latter closed under sufiicient tension to maintain the sections thereof normally in a common plane.

8. A shipping case comprising a receptacle having an open top, means providing an overhanging edge for said top, a cover comprising folding sections fitting within said receptacle and hingedly secured thereto at one end, the other end of said cover extending beneath said overhanging edge when fully unfolded and tensioning means engaging said receptacle and cover for holding the latter closed under sufiicient tension to maintain the sections thereof normally in a common plane, said cover being selectively swingable outwardly or inwardly, the sections of said cover, being foldable together and inwardly against the end wall of said receptacle.

9. A shipping case comprising a receptacle having an open top, means providing an overhanging edge for said top, a cover including folding sections fitting within said receptacle and hingedly secured thereto at one end, the other end of said cover eX- tending beneath the overhanging edge when fully folded, a spring engaging said receptacle and cover to hold the latter closed under sufficient tension to hold the sections thereof normally in a common plane, said cover being selectively swingable outwardly and inwardly, the sections of said cover being foldable together and inwardly against the end wall of said receptacle and means on said end wall cooperating with said spring for securing said folded cover in place.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN C. SEARLE. 

